Haven't had problem with the stop breakage (yet) in the Winchester 94AE I have, but if I had it to do all over again I'd of bought a Marlin. The Grizzly ammo advertises 180gr at 1350fps. Hefty but cozy in the rifle. Would like to shoot it from a revolver and see what it feels like. The pistol/rifle commonality is a compelling if not good idea, but I think I'd rather have a .45-70 or .30-30 in a long lever gun. If I have to use a lever gun against something it's usually better to have bigger. I had a problem with .38 Special cartridges in that they are a tad bit shorter than the .357's and cycling can sometimes be a problem. Least it was for me. I agree with Mohaveman re: the silly bolt/hammer safety.
Winchester 94AE .357 .38.JPG Grizzly .357 180gr.JPG
FWIW, here's more discussion on the Winchester variety.
http://www.gunblast.com/End-of-an-era.htm